Amidst all of the joys of homeschooling, there are tears at times also. This happened last week with both of my kids. I was really flabbergasted at how they were struggling with simple, simple things. I made sure we took breaks, I made sure I wasn't speaking a different language and they couldn't understand what I was saying; I just didn't have a clue as to why they were struggling with some things. Just a bad week, I guess.
I decided to do something fun--haikus. I don't understand it, but I've had enough people tell me that writing for the majority of boys is torture. I take their word for this, as it's proven true for my son. However, he has to do it once in a while. I thought haikus would be fun, he likes nature and he likes poetry. Not so much.....we thought of several together, he understood the rules as far as the number of lines and syllables and that it had to be about nature, but he couldn't grasp that it needed to be beautiful language depicting a moment in time. I even gave him descriptive language words to use, and I thought the many examples we did and read would help. He came up with one and it was quite humorous and gave us all a laugh and I accepted it, but then made him do another one more along the lines of the beauty of nature, and he was successful. Here are his haikus:
The black and grey geese
They are very annoying
As they land on ponds.
*We all thought this was hysterical, partly in the way he read it--guess you had to be there.
Fish swim very fast
As they glide through the water
With their scales shining
*I was very proud of him for this!
Despite the "torture" it was for him, I think in the end he was proud of himself--and that's the most important thing. He did something he really, really, really didn't want to do, did a great job, but I'm sure now he's thinking, "I can check that off and never have to do it again!" LOL!
Showing posts with label homeschooling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homeschooling. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Learning Addition
Sweet Lauren has always needed a little more time than those the same age as her when it comes to school. We have tried a few different math curriculums in hopes of her learning her math facts. Yes, unfortunately she has been struggling with basic addition. Please don't judge. She just has some kind of glitch that Hubby and I have been trying to figure out what it is in order to help her learn better. If it comes down to it, we may have to hire a tutor, or take her to a learning center that might be able to diagnose what the glitch might be. We've learned not to compare her to her brother who is more advanced in school, nor to other kids in her grade level. We've also learned that sometimes we need to take one subject at a time with her and focus on that for a while so as not to stress out and overwhelm her or ourselves. And guess what--it works! One of the beauties of homeschooling. We can adjust what we need to in order to help her progress and not worry about a timeline because she is learning, just at a different pace. I'll admit though, I do still worry sometimes, and try to keep her on an average timeline like others her age and grade, but in the long run, it's all going to work out. Her reading is an example. That didn't click and take off until this past fall, but now she reads chapter books all by herself and loves it.
This math thing has really been a doozy to figure out though. I have been in tears worrying about it. I mean, she has to learn her basic math facts in order to use it in every day life. Then one day, a fellow homeschooling mom sent out an email saying that her 3rd grade daughter was learning her times tables and when she succeeded with that they were going to have an ice cream sundae party. She printed out a picture of an ice cream sundae with different parts and once the daughter memorized and tested 100% on that particular number 1-12, than one part of the sundae gets colored in. When it's all mastered than the daughter gets a sundae party. She asked others if they wanted to join them. I thought this was a great idea and Lauren could do this with addition. However, there was a time line and I knew that would not work with Lauren. But, I took this mom's idea and tweaked it for us. After talking with Hubby, we gave Lauren the challenge that when she could master her addition facts 1-12 we would take her to Chuck-E-Cheese. She jumped at the challenge. We made a pepperoni pizza and put it on the fridge and each time she masters a number (meaning a timed test within 2 minutes and 30 seconds she needs to get 30 addition problems correct) than she colors in a pepperoni for the number she mastered. We are currently working on the 4s. She is understanding that as the number gets larger, it's too time consuming to count with fingers, so she is trying really hard to memorize. She's doing great and we're taking the time that she needs to master each number. So far we have been able to conquer one number a week. One day her test took her 3 minutes, so we studied a little bit more and the next day she was under the time limit. If this way of learning her addition facts is successful, I think we will do this for subtracting, and eventually multiplying and dividing. Here's her cute little pizza:
This math thing has really been a doozy to figure out though. I have been in tears worrying about it. I mean, she has to learn her basic math facts in order to use it in every day life. Then one day, a fellow homeschooling mom sent out an email saying that her 3rd grade daughter was learning her times tables and when she succeeded with that they were going to have an ice cream sundae party. She printed out a picture of an ice cream sundae with different parts and once the daughter memorized and tested 100% on that particular number 1-12, than one part of the sundae gets colored in. When it's all mastered than the daughter gets a sundae party. She asked others if they wanted to join them. I thought this was a great idea and Lauren could do this with addition. However, there was a time line and I knew that would not work with Lauren. But, I took this mom's idea and tweaked it for us. After talking with Hubby, we gave Lauren the challenge that when she could master her addition facts 1-12 we would take her to Chuck-E-Cheese. She jumped at the challenge. We made a pepperoni pizza and put it on the fridge and each time she masters a number (meaning a timed test within 2 minutes and 30 seconds she needs to get 30 addition problems correct) than she colors in a pepperoni for the number she mastered. We are currently working on the 4s. She is understanding that as the number gets larger, it's too time consuming to count with fingers, so she is trying really hard to memorize. She's doing great and we're taking the time that she needs to master each number. So far we have been able to conquer one number a week. One day her test took her 3 minutes, so we studied a little bit more and the next day she was under the time limit. If this way of learning her addition facts is successful, I think we will do this for subtracting, and eventually multiplying and dividing. Here's her cute little pizza:
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Homeschool Ramblings
I just realized that I had a week full of homeschooling discussions with different people.
The first discussion was a week ago with a mom that just began homeschooling her kids this year after they had been in public school for a few years. She is doing the same schooling that I am doing with my oldest right now. Her frustration is that she is hearing of people like me whose child can get a lot of school done in about half the time her child can. Her question was, "What am I doing wrong?" I think this is a common question with new homeschoolers coming out of brick and mortar schools. My question to her was, "Are you trying to do every single thing the curriculum is telling you to do?" One of the beauties of homeschooling--you get to decide and discern what to teach your child. Just because the curriculum wants your child to write 10 geography vocabulary words a week, along with your spelling words, and then some science vocabulary--why do you feel you NEED to do that? She asked me, "How do you know what to pick and choose?" That's when you have to discover through trial and error what works for your child. If what you're doing is making you feel like pulling out your hair and gnashing your teeth on a daily basis, then that is a HUGE clue that something needs to change. TRY something different. Don't worry about not doing every single thing the curriculum is telling you to do. Homeschooling is about tweaking curriculum to help make your child successful. As a homeschooler, you need to learn to use curriculum as a helping, resource tool, not the end all/be all of how you MUST do your schooling. In fact, that's probably why so many homeschoolers like myself, usually find an all around curriculum (meaning one that covers all subjects) they like, but then usually end up using a couple of other curriculums at the same time. For example, we used a curriculum for years that I loved for it's history, reading, and Bible, but then used two different curriculums for science and math, even though my curiculum for history, reading, and Bible included science and math.
The second conversation I had was Saturday when I went to get my hair done. The young lady who was doing my hair was asking me questions to get to know me and when we were discussing kids and she asked where they went to school and I told her we homeschool, the only thing she said was, "Why?" And this was not with a tone of voice of curiosity and generally just wanting to know why we chose homeschooling, it was a tone of dismay and unbelief that we would homeschool when there are perfectly good schools I could send my children to. In fact, just the way she said it kind of took me off guard for a minute and I had to really think about my reply to her. I could tell that she probably wasn't very open minded so instead of telling her it was a calling I felt, I told her that I had learned about it when I went through my college classes to become a teacher and just wanted to try it when I eventually had kids. She has a 3 year old and 1 year old herself and said that she is now considering homeschooling them because of the tragic school shooting that happened last month in Connecticut. To me, this is not a good reason to homeschool. When this tragedy happened, so many of my homeschooling friends commented that they were so thankful they homeschool and they could hug their babies tighter and not have to worry about their kids being in a school where someone could come in and shoot and kill their babies. I simply replied to my hairstylist what I will reply here to my fellow homeschoolers and anybody reading this, "That tragedy can happen anywhere with your kids. It happened at a movie theater and it happened at a mall. You do not have control of your kids all of the time--even if you homeschool."
The third conversation about homeschooling was on Sunday. It actually wasn't a conversation, it was something I overheard and decided not to engage in at the time. We invited some new friends to our church's life group and they accepted. The mom is a former teacher along with a couple of others of us who are educators, and their family is fairly new to town. The topic became how smart her daughter is (which she really is) but the school she goes to is not doing enough to challenge her, and there are becoming difficulties between the family and teacher. One of the people at life group asked if she would ever consider homeschooling her daughter. Her response was, "No, because I want her to be well-rounded." Whoa! This was one of those moments when time slowed down for me. Seriously, in slow motion, I saw my other friends' eyes dart in my direction to see what my reaction would be, then quickly dart away so as not to embarrass me. Then in my mind I was processing so many things: do I respond? Did my new friend forget that we homeschool and doesn't realize what she just said could offend me? Is she just that ignorant when it comes to homeschooling--should I defend homeschooling?" Then, all of a sudden time speeds up again and I decide to just grin and let the conversation continue and I would not say a word. When I got home, though I posted something on facebook that got a lot of positive responses--and not just from homeschoolers, but by those who have public school kids too:
'Was reminded tonight of the misconception people have of homeschooling...when asked if someone would homeschool their child, the response was, "No because I want her to be well rounded." Hmmmm, not sure what her definition of well rounded is, but considering my kids get to take time off school to travel with their dad at any time of the year, get to go with their girl scout troop on a Wednesday morning to help the red cross make fire safety packets and then hand them out to people in apartment buildings, get to enjoy the great outdoors with so many boy scout activities a year, visit 80 year old neighbors at any time of the day, get taught by different adults and take all sorts of different classes each semester at a co-op, participate in YMCA p.e. classes, city soccer leagues, and dance teams, and when they are ready they can move at a faster or slower pace in their schoolwork without worrying about a time table or having to work at the same pace as the rest of the class...I have to ask who the more well rounded child is? We have never advocated homeschooling on anybody, it's what works for us; just wish people had a better understanding of it all.'
The fourth conversation about homeschooling came last night at church. It was a lengthy conversation discussing many aspects of homeschooling that is too long to write about here in this already lengthy post. But, one of the things that stood out to me was when discussing testing at home. When I told my struggling fellow homeschooling mom about the success we are having with my oldest's schooling, one of the first things she asked me was, "What about grades and testing?" Again--more public schooling mentality. She was surprised to hear that grading didn't exist with this curriculum, and that the only testing required was state testing. When I told her that I have NEVER given my kids a test or given them grades her eyebrows literally shot up in disbelief! She was in total shock. I asked her why do I need to give my kids a test? If I can sit down with my children and we can discuss questions and answers together then isn't that like a test? Why in the world do I need to give them a written test if discussion works for us? Now, if you want your kids to do a written test just because you want a record of what they learned, or you feel they need to know how to take written exams because that's what brick and mortar schools do, then by all means do it. But, I don't feel it's necessary for me and my kids. But, guess, what--my kids do know how to take written tests because some of the curriculum we have used have tests for the kids to take after their reading and activities but instead of making my kids do these in writing, we simply discuss them or take them orally.
I guess to sum up my week:
*homeschooling is a calling that not everybody understands.
*homeschooling is a freedom that allows you to tweak curriculums to make your child successful--one size does not fit all
*you, the parent, needs to find what works for your child learning-wise, and time-wise. if something is not working, CHANGE it, and don't feel like you're doing it wrong
*always ask other homeschoolers for advice, but don't be shocked or surprised by what they do differently than what you would
The first discussion was a week ago with a mom that just began homeschooling her kids this year after they had been in public school for a few years. She is doing the same schooling that I am doing with my oldest right now. Her frustration is that she is hearing of people like me whose child can get a lot of school done in about half the time her child can. Her question was, "What am I doing wrong?" I think this is a common question with new homeschoolers coming out of brick and mortar schools. My question to her was, "Are you trying to do every single thing the curriculum is telling you to do?" One of the beauties of homeschooling--you get to decide and discern what to teach your child. Just because the curriculum wants your child to write 10 geography vocabulary words a week, along with your spelling words, and then some science vocabulary--why do you feel you NEED to do that? She asked me, "How do you know what to pick and choose?" That's when you have to discover through trial and error what works for your child. If what you're doing is making you feel like pulling out your hair and gnashing your teeth on a daily basis, then that is a HUGE clue that something needs to change. TRY something different. Don't worry about not doing every single thing the curriculum is telling you to do. Homeschooling is about tweaking curriculum to help make your child successful. As a homeschooler, you need to learn to use curriculum as a helping, resource tool, not the end all/be all of how you MUST do your schooling. In fact, that's probably why so many homeschoolers like myself, usually find an all around curriculum (meaning one that covers all subjects) they like, but then usually end up using a couple of other curriculums at the same time. For example, we used a curriculum for years that I loved for it's history, reading, and Bible, but then used two different curriculums for science and math, even though my curiculum for history, reading, and Bible included science and math.
The second conversation I had was Saturday when I went to get my hair done. The young lady who was doing my hair was asking me questions to get to know me and when we were discussing kids and she asked where they went to school and I told her we homeschool, the only thing she said was, "Why?" And this was not with a tone of voice of curiosity and generally just wanting to know why we chose homeschooling, it was a tone of dismay and unbelief that we would homeschool when there are perfectly good schools I could send my children to. In fact, just the way she said it kind of took me off guard for a minute and I had to really think about my reply to her. I could tell that she probably wasn't very open minded so instead of telling her it was a calling I felt, I told her that I had learned about it when I went through my college classes to become a teacher and just wanted to try it when I eventually had kids. She has a 3 year old and 1 year old herself and said that she is now considering homeschooling them because of the tragic school shooting that happened last month in Connecticut. To me, this is not a good reason to homeschool. When this tragedy happened, so many of my homeschooling friends commented that they were so thankful they homeschool and they could hug their babies tighter and not have to worry about their kids being in a school where someone could come in and shoot and kill their babies. I simply replied to my hairstylist what I will reply here to my fellow homeschoolers and anybody reading this, "That tragedy can happen anywhere with your kids. It happened at a movie theater and it happened at a mall. You do not have control of your kids all of the time--even if you homeschool."
The third conversation about homeschooling was on Sunday. It actually wasn't a conversation, it was something I overheard and decided not to engage in at the time. We invited some new friends to our church's life group and they accepted. The mom is a former teacher along with a couple of others of us who are educators, and their family is fairly new to town. The topic became how smart her daughter is (which she really is) but the school she goes to is not doing enough to challenge her, and there are becoming difficulties between the family and teacher. One of the people at life group asked if she would ever consider homeschooling her daughter. Her response was, "No, because I want her to be well-rounded." Whoa! This was one of those moments when time slowed down for me. Seriously, in slow motion, I saw my other friends' eyes dart in my direction to see what my reaction would be, then quickly dart away so as not to embarrass me. Then in my mind I was processing so many things: do I respond? Did my new friend forget that we homeschool and doesn't realize what she just said could offend me? Is she just that ignorant when it comes to homeschooling--should I defend homeschooling?" Then, all of a sudden time speeds up again and I decide to just grin and let the conversation continue and I would not say a word. When I got home, though I posted something on facebook that got a lot of positive responses--and not just from homeschoolers, but by those who have public school kids too:
'Was reminded tonight of the misconception people have of homeschooling...when asked if someone would homeschool their child, the response was, "No because I want her to be well rounded." Hmmmm, not sure what her definition of well rounded is, but considering my kids get to take time off school to travel with their dad at any time of the year, get to go with their girl scout troop on a Wednesday morning to help the red cross make fire safety packets and then hand them out to people in apartment buildings, get to enjoy the great outdoors with so many boy scout activities a year, visit 80 year old neighbors at any time of the day, get taught by different adults and take all sorts of different classes each semester at a co-op, participate in YMCA p.e. classes, city soccer leagues, and dance teams, and when they are ready they can move at a faster or slower pace in their schoolwork without worrying about a time table or having to work at the same pace as the rest of the class...I have to ask who the more well rounded child is? We have never advocated homeschooling on anybody, it's what works for us; just wish people had a better understanding of it all.'
The fourth conversation about homeschooling came last night at church. It was a lengthy conversation discussing many aspects of homeschooling that is too long to write about here in this already lengthy post. But, one of the things that stood out to me was when discussing testing at home. When I told my struggling fellow homeschooling mom about the success we are having with my oldest's schooling, one of the first things she asked me was, "What about grades and testing?" Again--more public schooling mentality. She was surprised to hear that grading didn't exist with this curriculum, and that the only testing required was state testing. When I told her that I have NEVER given my kids a test or given them grades her eyebrows literally shot up in disbelief! She was in total shock. I asked her why do I need to give my kids a test? If I can sit down with my children and we can discuss questions and answers together then isn't that like a test? Why in the world do I need to give them a written test if discussion works for us? Now, if you want your kids to do a written test just because you want a record of what they learned, or you feel they need to know how to take written exams because that's what brick and mortar schools do, then by all means do it. But, I don't feel it's necessary for me and my kids. But, guess, what--my kids do know how to take written tests because some of the curriculum we have used have tests for the kids to take after their reading and activities but instead of making my kids do these in writing, we simply discuss them or take them orally.
I guess to sum up my week:
*homeschooling is a calling that not everybody understands.
*homeschooling is a freedom that allows you to tweak curriculums to make your child successful--one size does not fit all
*you, the parent, needs to find what works for your child learning-wise, and time-wise. if something is not working, CHANGE it, and don't feel like you're doing it wrong
*always ask other homeschoolers for advice, but don't be shocked or surprised by what they do differently than what you would
Friday, October 12, 2012
Randomness
First of all, I can't believe I never posted a new school year pic of the kiddos. Evan is a 6th grader now, and Lauren is a 3rd grader. This was taken on our first day of returning to our beloved homeschool co-op. Evan is doing something new for school--it's called Maize Virtual Preparatory School. I really hate the name because it gives everybody a false impression that he sits at the computer all day doing his school work. That is so totally NOT true. We received all of his curriculum books so I am still the teacher. The only thing he does on the computer is look up his assignments, do check points when he has completed an assignment, there are enrichment activities and videos to watch, and once in a while we get to have talking discussions with his overseeing teacher through the computer, and he will soon be participating in a book club with his fellow students through the computer. Also, we don't even have to use their curriculum for every subject--we don't even have to enroll for every subject. If I wanted to just enroll him for science, I could. We still enjoy another math curriculum different than what mvps has, so we are doing that instead, and for composition, he is attending live classes with his overseeing teacher (who lives in Winfield, but travels up here to conduct the classes), instead of doing the composition curriculum mvps provides. Now, since this program is considered part of a public school district, he has to take the state assessments in the spring. This will be something new for him. However, I kind of don't care how he does on these tests. Homeschooling is such a unique way of schooling, that we don't "teach to the tests" like public schools have to, so I'm not putting any pressure on Evan for these tests at all. Also, since we are not doing the mvps math, I will be enrolling him from that subject, so he will not have to take the state assessment for that subject. So many of my fellow homeschooling friends have such an eskewed understanding of this program, and it is so different, and a little difficult to explain, that I really can't. All I know is that I knew about this program for over a year before I finally felt a godly nudge to look into it. When I did, I fell in love with it. Once we started it, I hated it. Trying to adapt to this new way of teaching was very difficult, but God told me I was not to give up. So, I didn't and now Evan and I absolutely love it! We all have different roads to take in our schooling, and God lead us down this one, and I was obedient and followed, and so far, so good. Lauren is not enrolled in mvps. She will continue to do the homeschool curriculum Evan used through 5th grade, and then when 6th grade comes, we will see if mvps will be right for her or not. Just because it's right for Evan, does not automatically mean it will be right for her. We will figure that out in a few years.
"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair." Lauren loves this new staircase set up in our new home. She tied a long scarf to her ponytail and let it hang down to pretend she was Rapunzel up in her tower.
A couple of weeks ago we took the kids to see the Broadway musical The Lion King. Totally, awesome, and fantastic. The costumes were amazing! Thankfully we had bought the tickets several months ago because otherwise we would not have been able to afford them after buying the new house.
One of the best things we have bought since moving into the new house--walkie-talkies! Now the kids take one with them when they go down to the neighbors houses to play, or walk to the other side of the pond. Plus, I don't have to step outside and start hollering for them when it's time to come in, and they don't have to run all the way back home to ask something. It's worked out beautifully.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Busy Weekend
Last Friday and Saturday were very busy. On Friday I went to the homeschool convention from 8:00 in the morning until 4:30 in the afternoon and then on Saturday Roger went with me to the convention from about 8:00 in the morning until 2:30 in the afternoon. It was a great one this year. The key speaker was fantastic--Todd Wilson from Familyman Ministries. I attended some really valuable workshops too. And, I was able to buy some curriculum. The entire time I was there, the kids were in Adventures in Character. They were in that last year as well and really enjoy it. It is held at the same place as the convention and they are assigned to a group with teen aged leaders who engage them in skits, songs, and games. I pick them up at lunch, and then check them back in afterwards. Believe it or not, the convention takes a dinner break and then you can check your kids back in after that for another couple of hours, so if you really wanted to, you could be at the convention about 12 hours. We didn't do that because Friday night we ended up going with some friends to see the parade that starts off our River Festival celebrations here in the city. Saturday we left the convention earlier because Evan had to get to church to rehearse for the next days church service which was being held in "big people's" church with the kids doing the praise time and the children's leadership conducted the service, sermon, skit, and games just like they do in kids church. Our pastor's sermon series has been We Are Family, so for last Sunday we were celebrating the children. It was so much fun, and you can read about it here.
I don't have any pics of the homeschool convention but I have some from Friday night's parade. We really enjoyed it.
I don't have any pics of the homeschool convention but I have some from Friday night's parade. We really enjoyed it.
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| Working on some logic puzzles before the parade starts. |
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| Yes, we had jackets. It was June 1st in KS but only 60 degrees--very unusual! |
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Field Day
Our YMCA homeschool PE class had field day today. It started off with the kids being able to paint a bowl from Color Me Mine. I think they get to pick them up next week after they have been taken back to the shop and fired in a kiln. Then we headed outside for a 50 yard dash, egg/spoon race, 3 legged race, trivia contest, trying to get the teachers wet with water balloons, a wet sponge relay, and tug of war. After that the kids got to play in the sprinklers for a little bit and then we headed inside for a potluck lunch.
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| The teachers had divided the kids into teams by colors ahead of time. Evan and Lauren had to wear blue shirts for their team. |
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| Lauren (in the red cap) talking with her partner ready for the 3 legged race. |
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| I am not sure how this tied in with the trivia game, but each team had to have 2 volunteers to get a "pie" in the face and Evan volunteered. |
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| Didn't get a front shot of his face, but it's covered with the "pie". |
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| Everyone lined up for the 50 yard dash. |
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| This is not all of the students, but quite a few of them. |
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| Everyone received certificate of achievements. |
Friday, February 24, 2012
A New Way of Schooling
*Introduction: This will probably be a long post, so I did not make sure all of my spelling is correct and I am not going to use spell check to correct any mistakes, so please just kindly overlook any spelling or grammar mistakes that I might have made--thank you!
I have known about the Maize Virtual Preperatory School for over a year now and have thought about it many times throughout this year. Here is the website if you would like to know what I am talking about and/or learn more about it: http://maizevirtualprepschool.com/
It has intrigued me and you know when you can't stop thinking about something that just maybe you are meant to investigate a little harder into it because it might turn out to be a prompting from the Holy Spirit and it might turn out to be a path God wants you to follow? That is what I have been feeling all this year regarding MVPS. We belong to a homeschooling co-op that I love! We have been involved with this co-op for a total of 5 years (with two years taken off during that time to concentrate on full time schooling at home for a while). However, this year I have found myself thinking I need a break from co-op. I didn't want to teach, but last semester I ended up teaching 2 classes. Then this semester, I am a helper in 4 classes instead of teaching and have enjoyed that very much, however, I didn't want to be there all day (9:00-3:00), but it ended up being that way simply so my kids could enjoy being with their friends.
I am not sure I can describe this right: I still love teaching and didn't mind the 2 classes, and I don't really mind being at co-op all day, and it's like when we are there on Mondays we enjoy it, but the other days of the week when I think about going, my spirit just isn't it any more. Have you ever been in a place (job, church, school, sports activity, etc.) where you still enjoyed it, but at the same time you just felt like you were growing apart from it and you didn't understand why, especially because it was/is your passion? If you've experienced this than what I am saying makes sense to you. If you haven't experienced this then you have no idea what I am trying to explain and I've just confused you--sorry, but believe me it's a little confusing to me too. However, the times this has happened to me before, it was God's way of weaning me off of what I was used to and leading me to something better. For example, We attended a church for 7 1/2 years; our kids were born into that church; those people were our family; we were actively involved and loved the activities and the preaching, but then all of a sudden I stared feeling like these people and this place was strange to me. After a few months of feeling this way and then sharing this with my husband he started feeling the same way. We decided to try out some new churches, and during the week of considering which church to try out first, I had a dream about a certain church twice, so we went there, and that has been our church for over 4 years now. God weaned us off of the first church that we loved so much because he wanted to take us to a new church that has been better for us in our walk with him. Okay, did this church example help you understand what I've been trying to describe about co-op and moving onto a new way of homeschooling? Maybe MVPS is the better option for our family now. We are believing this is the path God wants us to follow, so we are stepping out in faith and enrolling our son into the program for next year. We will continue to use our favorite homeschooling curriculum to teach our daughter for at least another year at home, maybe a little longer until we enroll her into MVPS.
The MVPS website gives a lot of good information about the program, but I learned a lot more information by attending the meeting last night, talking with the creator of the program and some of his staff, and looking over the curriculum. Here are some notes that I took last night:
*The first step after enrolling will be to take the placement tests they have for math and language arts. This will help determine at what grade level your child is in and how it matches up to the Calvert curriculum. However, if you disagree with the level the tests placed your child in, then you can discuss that with the administration and they are open to what you have to say because they believe we know our child's abilities best. Last night someone kept talking about how their child was gifted in math--he had been tested in the public schools and was able to do calculus at an 8th grade level. I didn't hear all of the conversation, but I know that they were discussing ways they could accomodate the child by not stifling him in that area by making him work at an 8th grade level, but getting him the curriculum he needed to allow him to work at his level.
*The curriculum can be adjusted to meeting your child's needs/levels. So, your child may be considered a 4th grader in public school, but if they are struggling in reading, then you can work with them in 3rd grade reading, but if they are advanced in math, you can work with them in 5th grade math. This is great because it means you don't have to order and receive all the materials for just 4th grade, they can mix and match whatever materials your child needs to help them be successful. If in the middle of the year they have overcome whatever gap there may have been in reading, then you will meet with the teacher assigned to your child and they will get us new curriculum, or give us resources online that the child can work on to continue their education--the child is not stuck waiting until next year to begin the reading curriculum for next year. Will this be an additional cost? I'm not sure but, it didn't sound like it would be. I might need to email them and get some clarification for that question.
*If for some reason we decide this program is not for us, we can unenroll at anytime. However, they don't want that to happen--they want to help us in any way succeed with this program. Some people new to schooling their children at home may become overwhelmed, but that is why we have teachers assigned to us to help those parents adjust in schooling their child, help them create a schedule, help them adjust the curriculum, or supply them with online resources to help them succeed.
*Most of the staff of MVPS have educated their children at home for some amount of time, so they understand the challenges, but fun that homeschooling offers. I am not sure what qualifications are needed to become a staff member of MVPS. I don't know if you need a degree in teaching, or what. I guess that is something I can talk about with whomever teacher we get assigned to.
*I can create my own schedule and do however many hours/lessons a day that I want to. I sat with a mom last night who has been involved with this online school for some time (MVPS is a branch of the Lawrence online school that has been around for some time now) and she said that there are a total of 180 lessons, but only 150 are required to finish the year, and if you happen to finish in March, then your school year is done. Or, you may want to continue through the summer. They do recommend that we spend 4 days of the week doing math and language arts. We try to do math and language arts every day, so I can live with that reccomendation. :)
*A calendar is set up for us online that is kind of like a checklist for the student to keep track of their lessons. If we miss a day, we simply record that online and the computer self adjusts everything for us.
*There are 2 audit days in September where we will have to fill out paperwork. This is required by the state of KS to make sure we are enrolled in this school--like an attendance record. This is different than homeschooling because we don't have to really keep any kind of records at all. I keep a lesson plan in case I ever have to prove we homeschooled, but that is not required by the state, that is just what I do. MVPS receives money for each student, but not as much as public schools receive, so there is a little bit of answering to the state that they must do.
*This year MVPS was K-8th grade, but next year they are adding 9th grade, the year after that they are adding 10th grade, and will continue adding 11th and 12 grades the next consecutive years.
*There are no grades granted. This school is a pass/fail program. This to me is no big deal because I don't give grades in our homeschooling now. However, there are many parents who feel that once high school is added that there need to be grades given. I agree with this. The creator of MVPS has asked the parent committee to come up with a way to record grades. I think this will happen because we need to have some kind of transcript for college. Since Evan is entering 6th grade, I am going to believe that by the time he enters 9th grade, there will be some kind of grading system in place--that's 3 years from now, surely something will be developed.
*Right now they only allow a maximum capacity of 400 students/50 students per grade level I believe for 1st-8th grade because if they included kindergarten that would be a maximum of 450 students with 50 per grade level. I asked the question if we were to enroll Evan and then in a couple of years wanted to enroll Lauren, but her grade level already had 50 students in it, would she not be able to be enrolled? He said she could be enrolled because she would be a sibling of somebody already in the program. So, if there were say 3 other families in that position, then they would make allowances for that and let that grade level have 54 students in it. He also told me that if I wanted to just enroll Lauren for one subject I could. I am thinking if I want to enroll her for science and just use our favorite homeschool curriculum for the other subjects--I haven't decided yet. However, I would get all of the curriculum books for her grade--they couldn't just seperate out the science books, so I could use those books if I wanted to without answering to MVPS for those subjects, or I was thinking ebay maybe for those extra books I wouldn't need?!
*The computer is an enrichment tool--this is not an online course where the student does all of their work at the computer. The assigned teacher will provide us with additional online resources/activities to help our children explore a topic or favorite subject further if they want to, or to help them learn a topic they may be struggling with. There are texts and workbooks they use and we as parents still sit down with our kids if they can't work independently, or if we just want to work alongside them to complete their lessons. There is a technology curriculum, so of course they have to sit at the computer to learn that subject. When I looked over the technology textbook last night that Evan would be using I joked about how computer illiterate I was, so I would be able to sit with him while he was learning, and be able to learn right along with him! LOL
*If you already have a laptop, then you can opt out of using theirs.
*They are still trying to develop the high school courses, but they are thinking of doing them like college classes, and these would be using I-Pads or Notebooks--I couldn't follow all of the stuff they were talking about concerning this. But, one of my friends who was there with me last night understood, so I'll have to ask her to explain that better to me and Roger. Anyways, they were thinking that for example Biology would be offered on Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:00, or something like that. Just creating some kind of college like schedule--it's still in the works.
*There is a foreign language elective, but we have Rosetta Stone for Spanish and French so I don't know if we would use theirs. I think they offer spanish, french, chinese, latin and sign language. I would be interested in the sign language for my kids.
*The teacher assigned to us will work, or loop, with our kids every year, so they really get to know our students and our families. I really like that!
*There are field trips and socials, clubs, like science or math, are being developed by parents, and they want to hold workshops/expos twice a year.
*One of the things I don't like is that my kids will have to take the state assessment tests. But, they need to get used to taking tests, and the way I look at it is this will help prepare them to take the ACT or SAT, or any tests for that matter if they decide to go to college. MVPS will help us prepare for those tests.
*Thankfully, most school districts in the Wichita area allow for dual enrollment meaning if my kids want to take an art, band, photography class or play on a sports team at the local public school, they can. I already knew this, but just letting any of you reading this that might not have known about this read this. However, a school district can change this at any time, but why would they when they get a little bit of money even if our children just enroll for one class?
I didn't take notes on the philosophy of this school, but it lines up with what I agree. This program kind of allows you to have the best of both worlds while schooling your child. Your child gets to be home with you; your schedule can be pretty flexible; the curriculum can be kind of flexible as well as adjusted; your day and year can be as long or short as you want; and you have a support teacher who is there to help you whenever you need it and just to check in on you a couple of times a month to help hold you accountable to things. I LOVE this! I do feel this is the path God wants our family to take right now. Now, you never know, things could change down the road, but for right now, this is what we need to do. For Evan for sure starting next year, for Lauren I'm still deciding about enrolling her for just one subject. If you are a Wichita area friend reading this, enrollment starts March 1st. Don't forget that there is a maximum capacity of students per grade level, so don't put off enrolling for too long. Go to the website and do as much research as you can on everything, and praying.
I have known about the Maize Virtual Preperatory School for over a year now and have thought about it many times throughout this year. Here is the website if you would like to know what I am talking about and/or learn more about it: http://maizevirtualprepschool.com/
It has intrigued me and you know when you can't stop thinking about something that just maybe you are meant to investigate a little harder into it because it might turn out to be a prompting from the Holy Spirit and it might turn out to be a path God wants you to follow? That is what I have been feeling all this year regarding MVPS. We belong to a homeschooling co-op that I love! We have been involved with this co-op for a total of 5 years (with two years taken off during that time to concentrate on full time schooling at home for a while). However, this year I have found myself thinking I need a break from co-op. I didn't want to teach, but last semester I ended up teaching 2 classes. Then this semester, I am a helper in 4 classes instead of teaching and have enjoyed that very much, however, I didn't want to be there all day (9:00-3:00), but it ended up being that way simply so my kids could enjoy being with their friends.
I am not sure I can describe this right: I still love teaching and didn't mind the 2 classes, and I don't really mind being at co-op all day, and it's like when we are there on Mondays we enjoy it, but the other days of the week when I think about going, my spirit just isn't it any more. Have you ever been in a place (job, church, school, sports activity, etc.) where you still enjoyed it, but at the same time you just felt like you were growing apart from it and you didn't understand why, especially because it was/is your passion? If you've experienced this than what I am saying makes sense to you. If you haven't experienced this then you have no idea what I am trying to explain and I've just confused you--sorry, but believe me it's a little confusing to me too. However, the times this has happened to me before, it was God's way of weaning me off of what I was used to and leading me to something better. For example, We attended a church for 7 1/2 years; our kids were born into that church; those people were our family; we were actively involved and loved the activities and the preaching, but then all of a sudden I stared feeling like these people and this place was strange to me. After a few months of feeling this way and then sharing this with my husband he started feeling the same way. We decided to try out some new churches, and during the week of considering which church to try out first, I had a dream about a certain church twice, so we went there, and that has been our church for over 4 years now. God weaned us off of the first church that we loved so much because he wanted to take us to a new church that has been better for us in our walk with him. Okay, did this church example help you understand what I've been trying to describe about co-op and moving onto a new way of homeschooling? Maybe MVPS is the better option for our family now. We are believing this is the path God wants us to follow, so we are stepping out in faith and enrolling our son into the program for next year. We will continue to use our favorite homeschooling curriculum to teach our daughter for at least another year at home, maybe a little longer until we enroll her into MVPS.
The MVPS website gives a lot of good information about the program, but I learned a lot more information by attending the meeting last night, talking with the creator of the program and some of his staff, and looking over the curriculum. Here are some notes that I took last night:
*The first step after enrolling will be to take the placement tests they have for math and language arts. This will help determine at what grade level your child is in and how it matches up to the Calvert curriculum. However, if you disagree with the level the tests placed your child in, then you can discuss that with the administration and they are open to what you have to say because they believe we know our child's abilities best. Last night someone kept talking about how their child was gifted in math--he had been tested in the public schools and was able to do calculus at an 8th grade level. I didn't hear all of the conversation, but I know that they were discussing ways they could accomodate the child by not stifling him in that area by making him work at an 8th grade level, but getting him the curriculum he needed to allow him to work at his level.
*The curriculum can be adjusted to meeting your child's needs/levels. So, your child may be considered a 4th grader in public school, but if they are struggling in reading, then you can work with them in 3rd grade reading, but if they are advanced in math, you can work with them in 5th grade math. This is great because it means you don't have to order and receive all the materials for just 4th grade, they can mix and match whatever materials your child needs to help them be successful. If in the middle of the year they have overcome whatever gap there may have been in reading, then you will meet with the teacher assigned to your child and they will get us new curriculum, or give us resources online that the child can work on to continue their education--the child is not stuck waiting until next year to begin the reading curriculum for next year. Will this be an additional cost? I'm not sure but, it didn't sound like it would be. I might need to email them and get some clarification for that question.
*If for some reason we decide this program is not for us, we can unenroll at anytime. However, they don't want that to happen--they want to help us in any way succeed with this program. Some people new to schooling their children at home may become overwhelmed, but that is why we have teachers assigned to us to help those parents adjust in schooling their child, help them create a schedule, help them adjust the curriculum, or supply them with online resources to help them succeed.
*Most of the staff of MVPS have educated their children at home for some amount of time, so they understand the challenges, but fun that homeschooling offers. I am not sure what qualifications are needed to become a staff member of MVPS. I don't know if you need a degree in teaching, or what. I guess that is something I can talk about with whomever teacher we get assigned to.
*I can create my own schedule and do however many hours/lessons a day that I want to. I sat with a mom last night who has been involved with this online school for some time (MVPS is a branch of the Lawrence online school that has been around for some time now) and she said that there are a total of 180 lessons, but only 150 are required to finish the year, and if you happen to finish in March, then your school year is done. Or, you may want to continue through the summer. They do recommend that we spend 4 days of the week doing math and language arts. We try to do math and language arts every day, so I can live with that reccomendation. :)
*A calendar is set up for us online that is kind of like a checklist for the student to keep track of their lessons. If we miss a day, we simply record that online and the computer self adjusts everything for us.
*There are 2 audit days in September where we will have to fill out paperwork. This is required by the state of KS to make sure we are enrolled in this school--like an attendance record. This is different than homeschooling because we don't have to really keep any kind of records at all. I keep a lesson plan in case I ever have to prove we homeschooled, but that is not required by the state, that is just what I do. MVPS receives money for each student, but not as much as public schools receive, so there is a little bit of answering to the state that they must do.
*This year MVPS was K-8th grade, but next year they are adding 9th grade, the year after that they are adding 10th grade, and will continue adding 11th and 12 grades the next consecutive years.
*There are no grades granted. This school is a pass/fail program. This to me is no big deal because I don't give grades in our homeschooling now. However, there are many parents who feel that once high school is added that there need to be grades given. I agree with this. The creator of MVPS has asked the parent committee to come up with a way to record grades. I think this will happen because we need to have some kind of transcript for college. Since Evan is entering 6th grade, I am going to believe that by the time he enters 9th grade, there will be some kind of grading system in place--that's 3 years from now, surely something will be developed.
*Right now they only allow a maximum capacity of 400 students/50 students per grade level I believe for 1st-8th grade because if they included kindergarten that would be a maximum of 450 students with 50 per grade level. I asked the question if we were to enroll Evan and then in a couple of years wanted to enroll Lauren, but her grade level already had 50 students in it, would she not be able to be enrolled? He said she could be enrolled because she would be a sibling of somebody already in the program. So, if there were say 3 other families in that position, then they would make allowances for that and let that grade level have 54 students in it. He also told me that if I wanted to just enroll Lauren for one subject I could. I am thinking if I want to enroll her for science and just use our favorite homeschool curriculum for the other subjects--I haven't decided yet. However, I would get all of the curriculum books for her grade--they couldn't just seperate out the science books, so I could use those books if I wanted to without answering to MVPS for those subjects, or I was thinking ebay maybe for those extra books I wouldn't need?!
*The computer is an enrichment tool--this is not an online course where the student does all of their work at the computer. The assigned teacher will provide us with additional online resources/activities to help our children explore a topic or favorite subject further if they want to, or to help them learn a topic they may be struggling with. There are texts and workbooks they use and we as parents still sit down with our kids if they can't work independently, or if we just want to work alongside them to complete their lessons. There is a technology curriculum, so of course they have to sit at the computer to learn that subject. When I looked over the technology textbook last night that Evan would be using I joked about how computer illiterate I was, so I would be able to sit with him while he was learning, and be able to learn right along with him! LOL
*If you already have a laptop, then you can opt out of using theirs.
*They are still trying to develop the high school courses, but they are thinking of doing them like college classes, and these would be using I-Pads or Notebooks--I couldn't follow all of the stuff they were talking about concerning this. But, one of my friends who was there with me last night understood, so I'll have to ask her to explain that better to me and Roger. Anyways, they were thinking that for example Biology would be offered on Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:00, or something like that. Just creating some kind of college like schedule--it's still in the works.
*There is a foreign language elective, but we have Rosetta Stone for Spanish and French so I don't know if we would use theirs. I think they offer spanish, french, chinese, latin and sign language. I would be interested in the sign language for my kids.
*The teacher assigned to us will work, or loop, with our kids every year, so they really get to know our students and our families. I really like that!
*There are field trips and socials, clubs, like science or math, are being developed by parents, and they want to hold workshops/expos twice a year.
*One of the things I don't like is that my kids will have to take the state assessment tests. But, they need to get used to taking tests, and the way I look at it is this will help prepare them to take the ACT or SAT, or any tests for that matter if they decide to go to college. MVPS will help us prepare for those tests.
*Thankfully, most school districts in the Wichita area allow for dual enrollment meaning if my kids want to take an art, band, photography class or play on a sports team at the local public school, they can. I already knew this, but just letting any of you reading this that might not have known about this read this. However, a school district can change this at any time, but why would they when they get a little bit of money even if our children just enroll for one class?
I didn't take notes on the philosophy of this school, but it lines up with what I agree. This program kind of allows you to have the best of both worlds while schooling your child. Your child gets to be home with you; your schedule can be pretty flexible; the curriculum can be kind of flexible as well as adjusted; your day and year can be as long or short as you want; and you have a support teacher who is there to help you whenever you need it and just to check in on you a couple of times a month to help hold you accountable to things. I LOVE this! I do feel this is the path God wants our family to take right now. Now, you never know, things could change down the road, but for right now, this is what we need to do. For Evan for sure starting next year, for Lauren I'm still deciding about enrolling her for just one subject. If you are a Wichita area friend reading this, enrollment starts March 1st. Don't forget that there is a maximum capacity of students per grade level, so don't put off enrolling for too long. Go to the website and do as much research as you can on everything, and praying.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
School
School has been going well since the beginning of 2012.
We just finished our 3rd week of co-op. Evan's classes are General Science, P.E., Physics, Knights and Vikings, and Discovering Great Artists. Lauren's classes are Art, Handbells, Physics, Native Americans, and Discovering Great Artists. Yep, E and L are in two classes together. That's usually quite an age range to have a 2nd grader in the same class as a 5th grader, but it's been working out well. I am enjoying being a helper in the classes instead of teaching this semester. I have the 9:00 hour free, but then I help in two hours of Handbells, Knights and Vikings, and then Discovering Great Artists. I think I will be ready to teach next fall, though; I think I'm kind of missing that. Still considering what to teach, though.
At home, we started 5th and 2nd grade at the beginning of January. Evan is studying Rome right now and the human body. Lauren is studying the USA and general science. They are working through their MathUSee curriculum. We are in a really good routine and keeping up with the curriculums. If we work through the summer then come next fall we will be on a "regular" school schedule--meaning Evan will be starting 6th grade and Lauren 3rd grade at the same time public schools start. OH MY GOODNESS!! I will have a middle schooler! And my little girl will be a 3rd grader! Time really does move fast.
We will be attending some great field trips this spring. This month we will be going to the Cosmosphere and to see a play based on one of my favorite kids books, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.
The kids are doing the YMCA Homeschool P.E. class on Wednesdays and Fridays this month. On Wednesdays they swim, and then Fridays are different fitness activities.
Today I took them to Exploration Place and we saw the cyber dome/planetarium movie about Egypt. Evan studied that in his 4th grade curriculum, so it was neat to see the pyramids, hyroglyphics, etc. in the movie. However, those cyber domes/planetariums are a little bit freaky. The rows of seats are so steep, and you feel like your seats are sometimes moving. Then, we went through the GPS/geocaching exhibit they had and that was fun. That was their schooling today--no book work at home. I love homeschooling!
We just finished our 3rd week of co-op. Evan's classes are General Science, P.E., Physics, Knights and Vikings, and Discovering Great Artists. Lauren's classes are Art, Handbells, Physics, Native Americans, and Discovering Great Artists. Yep, E and L are in two classes together. That's usually quite an age range to have a 2nd grader in the same class as a 5th grader, but it's been working out well. I am enjoying being a helper in the classes instead of teaching this semester. I have the 9:00 hour free, but then I help in two hours of Handbells, Knights and Vikings, and then Discovering Great Artists. I think I will be ready to teach next fall, though; I think I'm kind of missing that. Still considering what to teach, though.
At home, we started 5th and 2nd grade at the beginning of January. Evan is studying Rome right now and the human body. Lauren is studying the USA and general science. They are working through their MathUSee curriculum. We are in a really good routine and keeping up with the curriculums. If we work through the summer then come next fall we will be on a "regular" school schedule--meaning Evan will be starting 6th grade and Lauren 3rd grade at the same time public schools start. OH MY GOODNESS!! I will have a middle schooler! And my little girl will be a 3rd grader! Time really does move fast.
We will be attending some great field trips this spring. This month we will be going to the Cosmosphere and to see a play based on one of my favorite kids books, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.
The kids are doing the YMCA Homeschool P.E. class on Wednesdays and Fridays this month. On Wednesdays they swim, and then Fridays are different fitness activities.
Today I took them to Exploration Place and we saw the cyber dome/planetarium movie about Egypt. Evan studied that in his 4th grade curriculum, so it was neat to see the pyramids, hyroglyphics, etc. in the movie. However, those cyber domes/planetariums are a little bit freaky. The rows of seats are so steep, and you feel like your seats are sometimes moving. Then, we went through the GPS/geocaching exhibit they had and that was fun. That was their schooling today--no book work at home. I love homeschooling!
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Homeschool Field Day
We have so enjoyed the YMCA's homeschool fitness class this school year. To end the year, they had a field day followed by a wonderful potluck lunch. Games included 3 legged races, egg/spoon race, wheelbarrow walk, tug of war, bubble gum blowing contest (finding the gum with your mouth in some whipped cream), and the fire department came out and squirted the kids with the truck. Evan and Lauren had a blast!
Friday, December 17, 2010
School
Two days ago we finished Evan's 3rd grade curriculum! I have been behind since last year when we took too much time off--totally my fault. I need to order the 4th grade stuff, and hopefully we will be caught up when next autumn comes around. I know some people are total sticklers when it comes to homeschooling and want the time frame to match that of the public schools. Obviously, I'm not a stickler for that. That's one of the beauties of schooling at home--you can get behind and catch up during the summer if you need to. Besides, as hot as it can get here in KS in the summer, and you're stuck inside, it is great to be able to work on school for a couple of hours each day.
Lauren has made some huge strides in her reading ability. She's still not quite where I would like her to be, but I know she will get there soon just by what I have witnessed in the past couple of months. Since October, I have seriously been wondering if homeschooling is the right path for her, but God has specifically told me I need to do this and in the long run it will all work out. He's absolutely right, and this reading improvement has been some special encouragement for me. We completed the first book in the Explode the Code series (look it up if you're interested), and she had to take some tests in the back. She did awesome. One test was reading 2 paragraphs, each describing a certain object and then there were 3 choices and she had to decide which object the paragraph was about. But, the choices were a little tricky: pop, pup, or pip, for example. Well, the paragraph was describing a pup, but she had to make sure she was not getting the u vowel mixed up with the i or o vowel. Well, #1, she had to read the paragraph, #2 she had to understand what she read, and #3 she had to figure out which answer choice was correct. I wasn't sure how she would do, but I shouldn't have worried because she did it. I was so excited for her and Evan and I cheered and cheered for her!
I Love homeschooling!
Lauren has made some huge strides in her reading ability. She's still not quite where I would like her to be, but I know she will get there soon just by what I have witnessed in the past couple of months. Since October, I have seriously been wondering if homeschooling is the right path for her, but God has specifically told me I need to do this and in the long run it will all work out. He's absolutely right, and this reading improvement has been some special encouragement for me. We completed the first book in the Explode the Code series (look it up if you're interested), and she had to take some tests in the back. She did awesome. One test was reading 2 paragraphs, each describing a certain object and then there were 3 choices and she had to decide which object the paragraph was about. But, the choices were a little tricky: pop, pup, or pip, for example. Well, the paragraph was describing a pup, but she had to make sure she was not getting the u vowel mixed up with the i or o vowel. Well, #1, she had to read the paragraph, #2 she had to understand what she read, and #3 she had to figure out which answer choice was correct. I wasn't sure how she would do, but I shouldn't have worried because she did it. I was so excited for her and Evan and I cheered and cheered for her!
I Love homeschooling!
Monday, August 3, 2009
Blog Background--too many choices
Couldn't decide what background to put up for this month. I was leaning towards fall because the weather last week was so wonderful and such a tease for the autumn temps that will be coming soon. But, walk out of the house today and it's going to be 100 degrees--that is definitely not fall weather. Was thinking of a school theme because the kids and I woke up today ready to really focus on school Monday-Friday again and trying to finish up Evan and 2nd grade. I still think it's going to be October before we start 3rd (but, that's part of the beauty of homeschooling). Finally found the flip flops and knew that was a good one. After all, we are still in August and the dog days of summer. The heat's not over with yet (sigh).
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Summer School
If I could only get paid for every time I say "I love homeschooling" I'd be a rich woman! The flexibility it offers; personally watching my kids learn, helping them to learn, and being able to have control of what they learn; being more in depth of a certain subject they're interested in, and I could just go on and on and on about how wonderful it is. I am so glad that we homeschool in the summer. Since we have nowhere to be most days now, the kids look forward to getting up in the morning and doing school. Even though it's only about an hour's worth of work, it helps the day go faster and they aren't so bored.
Evan finished math and spelling during the "school year", so we are working hard on social studies (American History), and continuing Art, and Bible; and Roger will hopefully get science (Botany) finished this summer. Lauren is not working on any certain thing right now. She is enjoying Art and listening to the books read about all of the explorers who came to America. Dare I say it again? Sure, why not....I Love Homeshcooling!!!
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